At meetings with top lab officials, the Congressman was briefed on the labs’ important national security work and their continuing need for new federal investments in advanced technologies in clean energy, transportation, national security and environmental protection. Following the meetings with lab administrators, he attended question and answer forums with hundreds of lab employees.

"We have the greatest research facilities in the world," Congressman Garamendi told employees at LLNL. "From this incredible asset will be the answers to issues we confront in the future – if we’re willing to make the investment. Not only is the work done here important today, it will be important for decades to come."

Congressman Garamendi told the audiences that Congress passed a number of important jobs bills last year that will put countless Americans back to work, but more needs to be done. He explained that he sees Livermore’s national labs as incubators of high quality jobs that can create entirely new sectors of the economy. Echoing sentiments expressed by President Obama, Garamendi explained that countries that invest in cutting edge research in clean energy and modern transportation will be the home of future cutting edge industries.

Today’s meetings were part of a series of events the Congressman is holding in the 10th Congressional District. Today the Congressman also met with seniors at the Heritage Estate retirement community in Livermore, and later this evening, he is meeting with representatives from the Livermore Valley’s wine industry. Over the next week, he will also be meeting with transportation officials and labor leaders in Contra Costa and Solano Counties, and he will also be visiting Travis Air Force Base and the Joint Genome Institute.